Florida at Carolina

Champs extend winning streak to season-best five straight games

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The last time the Carolina Hurricanes
were this hot, they were rolling through the playoffs last spring and winning
their first Stanley Cup.

Their current streak is still alive largely because they went back to
the trademark of that Cup run -- dominance of the third period.

Rod Brind'Amour scored the go-ahead goal 50 seconds into the
third, and the Carolina Hurricanes shook off a sluggish first 40 minutes
to beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 Tuesday night
for their season-best fifth straight victory.

"Our game is getting in there, getting on the forechecking, and if we do
it enough, by the third period you can wear teams down a little bit,"
Brind'Amour said. "That's where we've had success in the past. I think
tonight the third period was pretty good - we were in their end a lot.
You could see they weren't quite getting to the pucks. That's what you
need."

"Right now everything I seem to be shooting is finding a hole here or
there," Williams said.

Two weeks ago, the Hurricanes lost their fifth straight game to fall to
one game above .500. Their current surge has helped them recapture some
of the confidence that carried them to the title in June.

"We're never satisfied with mediocrity," Williams said. "Before this
streak, we were right along that border of the playoff bubble, and
that's not what this team's about. This team's about Stanley Cup
contention. The last five games, we've shown that sometimes we're not at
our best, but when we are at our best, we're one of the best teams in
the league."

Nathan Horton scored two goals for Florida, and his second cut
it to 3-2 with 4:11 remaining.

The Panthers pulled goalie Alexander Auld in the final minute, but
Stillman made them pay by scoring an empty-net goal on a backhand from
the blue line while falling down with 40 seconds left.

Cam Ward made 18 of his 25 saves in the second period for the
Hurricanes, who won their seventh straight home game against Florida.

"You're messing with fire and rolling the dice when you're not at your
best, and for two periods, we were not at our best," Hurricanes coach
Peter Laviolette said. "We came out with a purpose in the third."

Horton extended his points streak to five games for the Panthers, who
haven't won at the RBC Center since a 2-0 victory on Dec. 6, 2002. Auld
stopped 26 shots.

"Their counter is so quick -- you play solid for the most part and a
turnover or a mistake, they end up in your net," Auld said.

Brind'Amour's goal came in the opening seconds of the third period
during a 4-on-3 power play.

Ray Whitney passed to Staal in the right circle, and his shot
grazed Brind'Amour, who was positioned near the goal. Officials upheld
the score after a brief review, giving the Carolina captain his 12th
goal of the season and making it 2-1.

"They caught a bit of a lucky bounce -- the puck was going wide and it
hit Brind'Amour's foot there, and that's the way it goes," Auld said.

Walker then made it a two-goal game with about seven minutes remaining
when he beat Auld high with a short wrist shot from the slot.

Horton gave Florida an early 1-0 lead when he skated in from the right
side and beat Ward with a wrist shot on just his team's second shot on
goal.

"We just needed to get as many shots as we can against him," Horton
said. "Eventually, one of them is going in."

The Panthers then clamped down on defense, holding the Hurricanes
without a shot for an 11-minute stretch to close the first period.

Williams tied it at 1 with about five minutes left in the second.
Williams skated down the left side, caught Auld watching Staal
approaching from the right and snapped a short wrist shot past him,
extending his points streak to eight games.

"I said, 'Why not get a shot on net? We're down a goal,"' Williams said.
"Fortunately it went in."

Notes

Carolina leads the season series 2-1.

The Hurricanes improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine at home against
Florida.

Horton now has 100 career points.

Tempers flared midway through the second period when Carolina's
Craig Adams and the Panthers' Steve Montador fought near
the boards.

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Scott Walker lifts the puck past Alex Auld for his 12th goal of the season.
(AP)